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Capital One is No. 1 when it comes to consumer complaints about credit cards, newly released data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau show.

The agency this week unveiled a searchable database of credit card complaints made by the public. The database shows the type of complaint — billing disputes are the most common — and the card company involved.

The consumer agency says it received nearly 17,000 credit card complaints between July 21, 2011, and the beginning of this month.

So far, the new database only includes complaints made since June 1.

Of the 171 complaints the bureau had received this month, 38 involved Capital One credit cards, more than any other issuer. Citibank had 30.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that between July 2011 and last month, Capital One also had the most consumer complaints — 2,700 in all.

“Capital One’s complaints included more than 400 on billing-statement and billing disputes and more than 200 each on collection practices, interest rates and identity-theft concerns,” according to the Journal.

Citibank was the subject of 2,380 complaints, Bank of America and Chase each received 1,800 complaints, and American Express, 870.

It’s hard to judge whether the complaints in the database have merit. But looking just at the volume of complaints, I think, can give consumers an important tool to help them decide which credit card is right for them.

And if this exposure puts pressure on these companies to make their products and services more consumer-friendly, that’s great.

The bureau takes complaints on a variety of financial products as part of its mandate. It sends consumer complaints to the appropriate companies, which must respond within 15 days and take action on the complaint within 60 days.

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Capital One credit card fees are the highest in the industry. The Call Reports (view reports on ibanknet.com to compare with others) verifies the information on how much cash they generate from charging customer fees on top of fees. Capital One business model is not to create value for the consumers but find way to continue raising fees.